Volvo Upgrades S60, V70, XC70 Styling for 2005

More Power for All 2005 S60, V70, XC70s

Volvo’s midsize S60 sedan, V70 wagon and XC70 crossover utility vehicle will receive their first major mid-cycle facelifts for the 2005 model year. These models have helped redefine the way that the pubic perceives Volvo, an automaker that is no longer seen as a purveyor of stodgy boxes driven by university professors.

The Volvo S60, V70, and XC70, models which redefined the brand, all receive their first major mid-cycle facelifts for the 2005.
At the same time, Volvo has used the S60, V70 and XC70 to expand into new market segments the brand has never attempted before, and now can be recognized amongst the best when it comes to all-wheel drive systems, performance attributes and in Europe, diesel power.

The facelift of the three related models mirrors changes made to the S80 in model year 2004, with subtle revisions to exterior trim, and interior design elements, as well as updated technology.

Interior quality has been improved all around, with the new Volvos featuring optional silver weave seats, real walnut trim and much more.

Both sedan and wagon body styles have been thoroughly updated in front, with new headlamps, grille inserts and fascias. With specific regard to the S60, Volvo has lowered the hoodline effectively creating a sportier stance than in previous models. This is accentuated with a blacked-out grille and rounded foglights, unique to the S60.

The V70 features similar changes, but its grille is chrome instead and it features squared foglights. Both the V70 and S60 can be had with chrome bumper inserts, adding sophistication and class.

2003 Lancia Granturismo Stilnovo Concept

Teasing with the Untouchables

Ever heard of Lancia? It’s an old carmaker with an extremely rich history in both motorsport and upscale personal transportation. Models such as the Lambda,

Unfortunately Lancia is no longer sold in North America, but it’s still interesting to check out what the brand offers on the other side of the Atlantic.

Aurelia and Stratos will forever rate highly on the must-have lists of classic car enthusiasts, while some of the nameplates more recent models, such as boxy but phenomenally quick all-wheel drive Delta Integrale rally car and artistically beautifully Thesis luxury sedan, currently available.

To European automotive enthusiasts the fact that the Lancia brand is no longer available in North America is a shame indeed, but it’s still hard not to take a peek at what the Italian automaker has to offer on the other side of the Atlantic once in a while. In the case of Lancia’s latest, the Granturismo Stilnovo, it’s merely a concept, and therefore taking a closer look doesn’t have quite the same

The Granturismo Stilnovo concept marries two seemingly opposite ideals, sedan practicality and sports coupe high-performance.
bite as if it were available and out of our collective reach.

The Granturismo Stilnovo, which came onto the scene at the 2003 Barcelona motor show, marries two very different motoring concepts that were until recently believed to be irreconcilable, the practicality and flexibility of a conventional sedan and the high-performance attributes of an out-and-out sports coupe.

The dream child of a joint venture between the Lancia Style Centre, Studio Carcerano and Carrozzeria Maggiora, the Stilnovo looks wonderful. If it’s an example of future Lancia design, North Americans had better start begging GM, part shareholder in Lancia’s parent company Fiat, to import the luxury brand.

2004 Buick Velite Concept

Buick Builds an Image Enhancer

I can’t remember the last time I lusted after a new Buick, if ever. I’m too young to have been aware of the ’63 Riviera when it came on the scene, having been born the same year, but nevertheless I’ve since slotted it in as one of my favorite domestic cars of all time. The 1988 to 1991 Reatta caught my attention when it debuted, but unlike the first Riv, it wasn’t one hundred percent right. Not like the new Velite Concept.

For the first time in my life I find myself lusting after a new Buick.
The new Velite is one hundred percent right? Well, being that I couldn’t get close enough to it after its introduction to make such an all-inclusive statement, I won’t commit that far. Still, for the first time in a long time Buick has captured the spirit of motoring in a very intoxicating way.

After all, when General Motors announced that Oldsmobile was to be fazed out of production, a common joke being bantered about the office went something like this: While none of us would be able to buy our fathers’ Oldsmobiles anymore, at least we’d still be able to purchase our grandfathers’ Buicks.

For the first time in a long time Buick has captured the spirit of motoring in a very intoxicating way.Now that a couple of years have passed, for some unexplained reason it’s still possible to buy a new Oldsmobile, and despite new SUV and crossover models bearing the Buick badge it’s still the nameplate of choice by the octogenarian set. Even the new LaCrosse is about as conservative as any new car in its class. While it’s very nice, and sleek for Buick’s standards, the brand’s designers didn’t exactly stray too far from convention.

But the same customers the LaCrosse is designed to attract were those who once saw the GM division as one of the most desirable domestic brands, back when Roadmasters, Rivieras and Wildcats ruled the roadways. Such were the last of the glory days.